ANGI Homeservices (ANGI +0.00%) may finally be turning the corner.
After a brutal year that saw the stock fall nearly 60% coming into the third-quarter report, shares of the HomeAdvisor parent surged Thursday, finishing up 21.5%. It topped expectations on both the top and bottom lines and posted 22% adjusted revenue growth, its fastest clip since it merged HomeAdvisor with Angie's List.
The company dialed back its Adjusted EBITDA guidance for the year, calling for $200 million-$205 million rather than the previous range of $200 million-$230 million, but investors gave the company the benefit of the doubt as CEO Brandon Ridenour explained the lower guidance was from stepping up investments across the business.
Let's take a look at three other key issues from the report that investors should be aware of.
Image source: Getty Images.
1. Fixed Price is a huge opportunity
During the earnings call and in an interview, Ridenour touted the company's fast-growing Fixed Price platform repeatedly. After acquiring Handy a year ago, primarily to help ANGI launch its own Fixed Price offering, the company has ramped up the direct-selling model to 133 tasks, about a third of the number of services the company provides. The Fixed Price model allows customers to easily get an order filled with just a few clicks, unlike the prior model of finding a service provider, messaging with them back and forth, and negotiating a price.
ANGI has reached that number -- 133 tasks -- significantly ahead of its own timeline, as earlier in the year management said it aimed to have 100 tasks available through Fixed Price by the first quarter of 2020. Ridenour said the accelerated rollout was a testament to the potential the company is seeing with Fixed Price, as well as the favorable customer response, adding, "It's a game-changer for homeowners."
As much as 40% of the company's leads are currently going unmonetized, due in part to a relative lack of service providers compared to customers, but management sees the Fixed Price platform as a way to capitalize on those unmonetized leads. The initiative pleases both customer and service providers by eliminating much of the hassle in arranging a job.
Image source: Getty Images.
2. Angie's List is growing again
Ever since the merger between HomeAdvisor and Angie's List, HomeAdvisor has been the star of the company, while Angie's List has been something of a problem child. However, the company seems to have put the biggest challenges with the advertising-based Angie's List behind it, as that business reported revenue growth for the first time since the merger.
Ridenour would not reveal the exact growth figure. He did say that the brand has been profitable since the new company was formed and management closed down some unprofitable product lines, restructured the business, and boosted sales and marketing.
ANGI's advertising segment, which includes Angie's List as well as smaller brands like mHelpDesk, Fixd, and HomeStars, saw adjusted revenue increase 7% in the period to $68.6 million.
Meanwhile, its marketplace business, which is made up of HomeAdvisor and Handy, grew revenue 27% in the quarter to $270.5 million, driven by double-digit increases in service requests and paying service providers.
Image source: Getty Images.
3. A slowing housing market isn't a problem
According to a number of indicators, the housing market has begun to slow down, and headlines about a recession have recurrently popped up this year even though the stock market is now at an all-time high. Still, Ridenour said his company had seen no impact from any slowdown in the housing market, and went as far as to say that a downturn in housing could actually help ANGI, as it would allow the marketplace to correct its imbalance between demand and supply. At the moment the company has more service requests than service providers that can handle them.
In a recession, the company would presumably see fewer service requests, but providers might look to the platform as a new source of business, giving the company an opportunity to bring in new service professionals.
ANGI also resolved the headwinds it had seen with paid search in the second quarter, and the company seems well prepared for 2020, carrying "strong momentum" in both HomeAdvisor and Angie's List, according to Ridenour.
ANGI expects adjusted revenue growth of 20% for the fourth quarter, and continues to forecast long-term revenue growth of 20%-25%, including next year, though Ridenour warned that margins could tighten in 2020 as the company steps up investments.
After a solid quarter, ANGI is solidifying its competitive advantages and delivering reliable top-line growth. Following the sell-off earlier this year, the stock still looks like a bargain. Shares could easily move higher from here.
